Controlling mechanism for cotton-working machines



April 1929- J. w. WOODWARD I 1,709,646

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR COTTON WORKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 16, 1925 A T TO ENE Y Patented Apr. 16, 1929.

UNITED srAT s 1,709,646 PATENT-OFFICE.

JOHN WILLIAM WOODWARD, OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO R; BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SACO-LOWELL SHOPS.

CONTROLLING. MECHANISM FOR COTTON -WORKING MACHINES.

Application filed November 16, 1923. Serial No. 675,140.

' opened is located atsome distance from the picker room; and the loose mass of cotton is transferred from the opening room to the picker room by a pneumatic conveyor. This conveyor usually delivers the cotton to a con veying belt which runs through the picker room and supplies cotton to a line of openers or breaker lappers. The distribution of the cotton by the belt to the individual machines in theline is usually controlled automatically by a mechanism commonly referred to as the Morton distributor and which is now well known in the trade. The arrangement is such l10WBV6l.,,th tt the last one or two machines in the line'are likely to be starved or fed insufficiently and irregularly. VVhena breaker lapper is fed in this manner it pro-- duces a lap of lrregular thickness, the part 7 of the lap made while an insufiicient quantity of cotton'is supplied being abnormally thin.

This thin lap introduces variations in the character of the work turned out by subsequent machines and is objectionable for this 4 thereto so that a lap of substantially uniform It is the chief object of the present invention to overcome the difficulty just described. The invention is directed particularly to the provision of a mechanism which will auto matically control the operation of a breaker lapper or like machine in response to pre determined variations in the supply of cotton thickness willbe produced. While the mech anism provided by this invention is of particular utility in a breaker lapper, it is contemplated that it may also be used to advantage in other machines where similar problems exist. i I I The nature of the invention will. be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 4

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a combined breaker lapper and'feeder equipped with a controllingmechanism embodying the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of a trolling mechanism. I

The apparatus shown comprises a breaker lapper, indicated, in general at 2, and a feeder part of the 0611 '3 and beater 4 for automatically feeding cotton to the lapper. These elements are of the usual commercial construction. The driving mechanlsm for the machine includes a pulley 5 on the counter shaft or motor shaftfi, and another pulley-'7 on the beater shaft 8, these pulleys being connected by a belt 9. Another pulley 10 on the shaft 8 drives a belt 12 which, in turn, drives either a fast pulley 14 or a loose pulley 15 on the maindriving shaft 16 of the lapper.- f I i f The cotton feeding mechanism includes a hopper 18 to which cotton is delivered auto-' matically by the usual cottondistributing mechanism above referred to. .Mounted within the hopper18 is a feelei' fork or rake 19 secured fast on a rock shaft 20 that is journaled in the upper part of thehopper. A toothedsector 21 is secured to this rock shaft and meshes with a gear 22 which carries a weighted arm 23. These parts thus act on thefeeler to press it inwardly against the cotton in thehopper. So long as an adequate supply of cotton is maintained in the-hopper, the feeler will be pressed backby the cotton against the side of the hopper, as shown in Fig. 1; butwhen this supply becomes depleted, the feeler will be moved inwardly by the weight of the arm 23-,

and this movement will be transmitted through connections with a belt shipper actw ing on the belt 12 to shift this-belt from the fast pulley 14. on to the loose pulley 15 and thus to stop the lapper.

I These connections include an arm 24 fast on the rock shaft 20,'a rod 25 which connects this arm with a lever 26, and another rod 27 connecting said lever with one arm 28 of a bell crank lever which is mounted on a bracket 30. The other arm 31 of this lever carries pins which straddle the belt 12. Transmission of motion from the feeler 19 to the belt shipper 31 will be readily understood from an inspection of the drawings.

The driving mechanism for the various elements of the lapper and the feeding mocha nism therefor is such that when the belt 12 is shifted on to the loose pulley 15 all of the moving parts of both the lapper and the feeding mechanism are stopped, with the exception of the beater and the condenser fan. These parts are relatively heavy so that there is an advantage in keeping them in operation, and the fact that they are running while the machine otherwise is stopped, do s not affect the lap that will be produced.

' \Vhen the delivery of cotton to the hopper 1.8 is resumed, the accumulation of cotton in the hopper forces the feeler 19 back into its normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, and this movement is transmitted through the connections above described to the belt shipper 3 causing it to shift the belt- 12 back on to the fast pulley l-i again. The machine thereupon resumes its normal operation.

It will now be evident thatthe mechanism provided by this invention stops the lap building mechanism, feed rolls, feed aprons,

l and the like before the su )l of cotton bea ll TY comes so far depleted that there is danger of the best embodiment of my invention that l have so far devised, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms Without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what 7 I desire to claim as new is: p

1. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of cotton working lllQCllih nism, means for feeding a loose mass of cotton to said mechanism, and means for automatically stopping said mechanism when the supply of cotton in said feeding mechanism becomes substantially depleted, said means being arranged to be'actuated by said mass of cotton to automatically start the mechanism again when said supply has been replenished.

2. Ina machine of the character described, the combination of cotton working mechanism, means for supplying cotton to said mechanism, a feeler controlled as to position by said supply, and starting and stopping means for said mechanism under the control of said feeler.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofmechanism for working cotton. into the form of a lap, means for feeding a loose mass of cotton to said mechanism, and means for automatically stopping said mechanism when the supply of cotton thereto becomes depleted, said means being actuated by said mass of cotton for automatically starting the mechanism again when said supply has been replenished.

- 4t. ln a n'iachine of the character described, the combination of lllQCllZlIllSl'llfOl working cotton into the form of a lap, means for feed and means for automatically stopping said mechanism when the supply of'cotton thereto becomes depletec, said means being arranged to be actuated by said mass of cotton to auto- 'matically startthe mechanism again when said supply has been replenished.

5. in a machine of the character described,

ing a loose mass of cotton to said mechanism,

the combination of a breaker lapper, feeding mechanism for supplying cotton to said lap per, a feeler for engaging the cotton in the feeder, driving mechanism for said lapper, and connections between said mechanism and said feeler whereby said feeler is enabled to stop the lapper when the supply of cotton in the feeder becomes depleted and to start the lapper again when saidsupply has been replenished.

. 6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a breaker lapper, feeding mechanism for supplying cotton to said lapper including a hopper, a'feeler mounted in said hopper, means for acting on said feeler to press it against the cotton in the hopper, driving mechanism for said lapper including a belt and fast and loose pulleys arrangedto be engaged by said belt, a shipper for said belt, and connections between said feeler and shipper whereby the feeler operates through the shipper to movothe belt 011 to the loose pulley when the supply of cotton in the hop per becomes depleted and to return the belt to the fast'pulley again when said supply has been replenished.

JOHN WILLIAM NOODlVA RD; 

